an industrial feel

I love the look of home-wares and furniture that have an industrial feel to them – especially when they are actually had a former life in some sort of industry. That rawness and metal look feels so out of place in an every day home, so much so it almost looks like it belongs. Below are a few finds of mine which epitomises this look for me:

ebay antique hospital cabinet

ebay industrial console table

this one needs a bit of imagination – but with a restoration it would make amazing storage

ebay industrial drawers

vintage index file drawer by industrialrelic on etsy

Replica Xavier Pauchard Tolix Chair by Matt Blatt

Now just to get the massive New York-esque loft to fit all this furniture in, sigh….

 

ikea, why must you tease me so.

So it seems everything I currently want from Ikea is not in stock – boo! I am not sure quite how accurate their stock counter is, but since it’s at least a 40 minute drive from my house, it’s too risky to chance it. Hopefully in the new year (or at least after Christmas) some of their stock will be replenished and I can buy:

ostlig flower pots - to hang on my fence outside. I have decided with such a small deck I need to lift the plants off the ground – also I need to get all my pots matching, it’s currently a bad mish mash of different pots (I never seem to be able to do the eclectic look well, it always ends up looking untidy)

tarno chair - to match the outdoor table I bought a few weeks back. I have since painted the table red, and would love to include two of these chairs with it – maybe in red, or another bright colour.

Also my bedside tables fall in this category – but you’ve seen enough photos of those! Some things that are in stock that I’d like to get my hands on:

gilbert chair - for my dining room

norrora dishes – would be perfect to hold those loose elastics and bobby pins.

I am going to try to hold out until after Christmas….let’s see if that happens.

urban outfitters

Well my oven got fixed today – which means I can start baking again! I think the first on my list will be these babies – ‘spicy sticky cinnamon rolls’ from The Kitchn at apartment therapy. They remind me of an after school bakers delight treat – yum!!

Before I can get home and attempt to bake them – I need to get through the work day, which is proving quite boring. In order to entertain myself I have created a list of things, if money was in abundance (and I didn’t just have to pay for my oven to be repaired) I’d love to be buying from urban outfitters (especially since they’re international shipping has now decreased!!):

app magnets

night and day convertible sofa

chelsea crew cut out oxford

matryoshka doll measuring cups

pins and needles high waisted skirt

pins and needles watercolor chiffon blouse

all images courtesy of urban outfitters

That’s all I can find so far…I’m sure I could find a whole lot more if I didn’t have to be wary about spending my entire work day on urban outfitters…sigh.



the new couch of my dreams

It seems I am quite fickle – no sooner did I announce I had found the couch I needed, I have found another one! This time at Click On Furniture, it is a replica Florence Knoll Loveseat and the best part is if you buy it in white it’s only $850! Thats over $400 cheaper than my previous recollections find. I am still uneasy about making the decision to buy a white (or cream) couch, however I feel that it’s the best colour for my space.

It seems the longer I don’t have money to actually purchase furniture the better finds I come up with! Hopefully I’ll be able to buy them all one day soon!

ebay furniture possibilities

Having a slightly non-existent budget to decorate my house does open me to some interesting opportunities. I have been trawling through ebay recently looking for cheap finds that could potentially find a home in my house. There are some things that I want to buy new, namely a couch, however with the other living/dining pieces I am more than happy to take someone’s trash and potentially turn it into my treasure. Below are a few pieces I am currently considering.

A coffee table – perfect for my space, as I need a round coffee table, and its glass, which is great for small spaces

Mid-century style armchairs – to compliment my potential cream couch mentioned in the previous post. Not sure about colours yet – but re-upholestry is always an option, as is coloured cushions.

There are quite a few sideboards on ebay - as you will see from the number of pictures I post – however they are all subtly different, and they range enormously in price.

This one is back in Perth – might have to involve the parents if I decide on it! I like it because it has the sliding doors on the left, which when I use it as an entertainment unit will allow the doors to remain open for ease of using the remote.

This one is solid wood – not a veneer – which is an advantage – it’s price does reflect it though – going for $850.

Ahh….all the possibilities!!!

furniture ideas

Now that I think I have settled on a floor plan (see below) I can begin to start searching what furniture I want to buy in the future. I don’t have many plans to keep the furniture I have because most of it is from Ikea, and I don’t want a house full of particleboard. These items will most likely be repurposed in the guest room. So I am basically starting from scratch.

The most important element I feel for the living room will be the couch, and this has been the most difficult to find. I have settled momentarily on a couch from Recollections, that only comes in a cream leather – a bold move, but I think I could keep it clean. For my TV cabinet, I have settled on using a sideboard, not built as an entertainment unit, but suits the purpose never the less – I will be moving all but the foxtel box upstairs to the guest room (that includes, DVD player, Wii, Playstation, and Nitendo 64) to reduce the clutter. I am stuck on what colour rug to use, something bold and with the colour theme (at the moment I am going with a red/green theme, not christmas red/green though) or something neutral and more natural looking. This will also affect what armchairs I buy, with a neutral rug I think a more focal chair would suit, and vice versa with a focal rug. Below is a mis match of what I have going on so far, now just to save the money to buy it all!

floor plan brainstorming

Unfortunately decisions don’t come easy to me. I have to deliberate them carefully, and even then I am never satisfied with the result. So when it came to finalize my floor plan, so I can start purchasing my furniture, it has unsurprisingly taken me quite some time. I am currently sitting with three proposed options, however since my downstairs is an open plan living/dining/kitchen, the rooms can we swapped with each of the different plans.

I am still unsure which one to go with – 2nd and 3rd option allow a small desk in the living room, the first seems to have the best flow with the couch placement,  I don’t know which way to place the dining room table, and I’m not sure if I realistically have room for a kitchen island? But then the kitchen would have a massive empty space. I need to decide soon so I can start on finding the furniture to fit, which I know is going to be even more decisions….